


Comfort in your arms

by dat_carovieh



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Cuddling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:20:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29826936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dat_carovieh/pseuds/dat_carovieh
Summary: It's the first time after the sacking of Kaer Morhen the wolves return to the keep.Geralt and Eskel find comfort in each other.
Relationships: Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	Comfort in your arms

**Author's Note:**

> Geralt knew it would be weird to return to Kaer Morhen this year. He had been there, a couple of months ago, as the keep had been attacked. It had been a horrible massacre but he hadn’t really realized what had happened back then. His brain had just shut it down. Now as he rode into the yard of the keep and it was quiet. Much too quiet. There had always been children running around, training. Instructors yelling at them. Just so much had happened everywhere. Now it was empty. As far as he knew only five or six of them had survived. Not everyone would be returning. But he has had the feeling that he had to. In the stables he saw three more horses. He was sure, he recognised one as Eskel’s horse and he immediately felt much lighter. He had known Eskel had survived, but he hadn’t known if he wanted to return to the keep. He took care of Roach before he went inside, his bags in hand.

“Geralt! Thank the gods, you’re here.” It was Eskel’s voice carrying through the hall as he entered. Only a second later he saw Eskel running at him. Without thinking Geralt dropped everything and allowed Eskel to hug him. He stumbled back two steps as the other Witcher threw himself into Geralt’s arms.

“I so hoped you would come,” Eskel said. “But I thought maybe after all that happened you wouldn’t want to return.” Geralt pressed his face in Eskel’s hair.

“I’m only here because I hoped to see you,” he admitted.

Their whole friendship had been burdened with the fear of losing each other. First the trials only three in ten boys survive. But against all odds they both had survived. Geralt remembered how they had promised each other that they would survive. Knowing very well the odds weren’t good. Then Geralt having to go through his additional trials, Eskel had been terrified as Geralt had been fighting and screaming for days and he also came out again. The only one who did. When he had come back to Eskel this time, they both had cried as soon as they had been alone. They had hid in an empty room, holding each other, shaken by tears. And then they had hit the path and each year they didn’t know if the other would come back if the other would survive. Even now after most of their school had been killed, they were still alive, still able to hold each other.

They let go of each other again, looked the other in the eyes.

“Who else is here?” Geralt asked carefully.

“Vesemir and Lambert. I don’t know if you know him, he just finished training, was only on the path for a couple of months when everything happened,” Eskel explained. Geralt wasn’t sure but he thought, he remembered him.

“The angry little boy,” Geralt said.

“Yes him. He’s not dealing well. I mean he’s not a little boy anymore of course but yeah he is still so young, I think it’s even harder on him then on us.”

Geralt could imagine. He didn’t know a lot about Lambert, but he has had a hard time to fit in from the beginning. Eskel took the bags Geralt had dropped as Eskel had thrown himself at him.

“Come on, let’s get you to your room,” he said and Geralt agreed. After the travel up the mountain he only wanted to get a hot bath and then into his bed.

“It’s so quiet here,” Geralt whispered. It felt wrong to talk out loud now that there weren’t yells everywhere.

“Yes, it’s really disconcerting,” Eskel agreed.

* * *

Geralt spent at least half an hour in the hot springs, washing off all the dirt from the road and enjoying how the hot water relaxed his muscles. But even here he felt uneasy. He had never been alone in the big room filled with different pools. At least some people had always been here during the day. Only once he had been alone in here. Well alone with Eskel, when they had sneaked down during the night once. He thought back to it with a fond smile. These little stolen moments they had had when they had been children and teenagers had always been great.

When he left and walked through the empty halls, he sometimes felt like he could hear children’s voices somewhere in the distance but he knew it was just his imagination. He went to bed quickly after that. The fire he had started before heading down to the hot springs had warmed up his room by now and the comfortable bed was inviting. But no matter how comfortable it was, sleep wouldn’t come and he kept turning.

He heard a faint knock on the door and a low voice.

“Geralt, are you still awake?” It was Eskel.

“Come in,” Geralt said. The door opened and a figure tiptoed over to his bed. He was barefoot on the cold stone floor. The mattress moved as Eskel lied down next to Geralt. He tugged at the blanket and Geralt threw it over the both of them.

“It’s to quiet, I can’t sleep. Haven’t slept in three nights, since I’m here. I’m so glad you’re finally here,” he said. Geralt understood exactly what he meant. He pressed his body against Eskel’s and looped his arm around him. He heard Eskel’s breathing getting more even as soon as he had pulled him into his arms and Geralt himself felt much calmer now. For just a second, he pressed his lips to the top of Eskel’s head before he closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

* * *

The next morning as neither Geralt nor Eskel appeared for breakfast, Vesemir went up to check on them. He found Eskel’s room empty and started to worry that maybe they had taken off. It was already dangerous to go down the path again. Winter was too close. But when he was before the door of Geralt’s room he heard two heartbeats. He opened the door only a bit and saw Geralt and Eskel pressed together, arms around each other, still in a deep sleep. He quietly closed the door again. After everything, they deserved some peace. And if they found it with each other, he wouldn’t disturb them.

**Author's Note:**

> If you want to know when I upload more, support me or just want to chat, you can follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/LupisLiontooth) and [Tumblr](https://dat-carovieh.tumblr.com/) for Witcher Shenanigans and Fic updates.
> 
> The art for the cover was done in Source Filmmaker by me. You can find it on [tumblr](https://dat-carovieh.tumblr.com/post/644668014362492928/comfort-in-your-arms-tags-hurtcomfort) and on [twitter](https://twitter.com/LupisLiontooth/status/1367209131149582341)


End file.
